There is currently considerable interest in what degrowth compatible business practices may be and what they may look like.However,while the embeddedness of a degrowth business in the wider environment has been recogn...There is currently considerable interest in what degrowth compatible business practices may be and what they may look like.However,while the embeddedness of a degrowth business in the wider environment has been recognised,and this affects theorising of practices and principles,there remains a need to seriously consider the inter-connection between degrowth business and its surrounding environment as a physical and cultural space.To avoid merely hinting at geographical concepts such as space,place,and location,a better approach is establishing a dialogue between degrowth business and geography.To do this,I use the degrowth business framework and connect its elements with the concepts of space,place,and location.This analysis shows that each of the elements is intimately inter-related with geographical concepts and needs to be thought of,theorised,and implemented as such.I conclude that geographical concepts should not be merely implied when theorising degrowth business.Rather,looking at degrowth business through various lenses provided by geographies is indispensable for making degrowth reality in diverse locations.展开更多
In the last few years, different sources pointed to a same message： industrial civilization had entered into an overshoot mode; the natural limits to growth had been already surpassed. This frontier does not wait for...In the last few years, different sources pointed to a same message： industrial civilization had entered into an overshoot mode; the natural limits to growth had been already surpassed. This frontier does not wait for us in the future; it already belongs to our past. If population and the economy are truly beyond the limits, then current visions and theories of social change would be deeply perturbed. If the development era is approaching its end, then many sociological theories on current societies will share the same destiny： sustainable development doctrines between them. It is worth to examine theories that explicitly look at the social world which at least are not incompatible with it. Four different approaches are discussed in this context： governance of complexity, post-development and alternative local development, utopian sceneries of a prosperous waydown, visions of collapse and the die-off. As a conclusion, the paper accepts an evolutionary perspective supports that there are some potentials for conscious social change, but it does not justify the belief in a particular only line of history. This conclusion does not satisfy the desire of knowing the future; nevertheless it may be the only one possible. The future is not written. Neither in history nor in evolution; not even in the mixture of history and evolution that conforms us as inhabitants of the Earth.展开更多
Given certain reactions to the ecological crisis as part of the multiple crisis of capitalism （like the so-called energy transition in Germany）, a new mode of development might emerge which can be called green capit...Given certain reactions to the ecological crisis as part of the multiple crisis of capitalism （like the so-called energy transition in Germany）, a new mode of development might emerge which can be called green capitalism. This would shift the terrain of social critique and emancipatory social struggles. The paper introduces the debate on ＂social-ecological transformation＂ which emerged as a radical part of a more comprehensive debate on ＂great＂ or ＂societal transformation＂ and high- lights its core issues： the issue of a necessary attractive mode of production and living for all, the role of pioneers of change and changing political and economic institutions, the acknowledgment of shifting social practices, the requirement for alternative imaginaries or ＂stories＂ of a good life as part of a contested process which is called ＂futuring.＂ As an example for alternative imaginaries, the current debate on ＂degrowth＂ is outlined and evaluated. The second part of the paper focuses more concretely on issues around the formation and existence of a global green-left. After mentioning a crucial problem for any global alternative--i.e., the structural feature of economic and geopolitical competition which historically divided the global Left and pulled it into compromises at national or regional scales--four requirements or characteristics of a global green-left are highlighted： to weaken and change capitalistically driven competition and competitiveness, to push a social-ecological transformation in democratic ways and not at the back ofordinary people （like conservative and liberal proposals for transformation tend to do）, to link more systematically green issues with labor issues and, finally, to transform the overall dispositive of political action from a ＂distributive＂ to a ＂transformative Left.＂ One dimension of such an enhancement, it is concluded, is a broader understanding of the ＂economy＂ itself by acknowledging the demands and achievements of a ＂care revolution＂ which will be crucial for an alternative mode of production and living.展开更多
文摘There is currently considerable interest in what degrowth compatible business practices may be and what they may look like.However,while the embeddedness of a degrowth business in the wider environment has been recognised,and this affects theorising of practices and principles,there remains a need to seriously consider the inter-connection between degrowth business and its surrounding environment as a physical and cultural space.To avoid merely hinting at geographical concepts such as space,place,and location,a better approach is establishing a dialogue between degrowth business and geography.To do this,I use the degrowth business framework and connect its elements with the concepts of space,place,and location.This analysis shows that each of the elements is intimately inter-related with geographical concepts and needs to be thought of,theorised,and implemented as such.I conclude that geographical concepts should not be merely implied when theorising degrowth business.Rather,looking at degrowth business through various lenses provided by geographies is indispensable for making degrowth reality in diverse locations.
文摘In the last few years, different sources pointed to a same message： industrial civilization had entered into an overshoot mode; the natural limits to growth had been already surpassed. This frontier does not wait for us in the future; it already belongs to our past. If population and the economy are truly beyond the limits, then current visions and theories of social change would be deeply perturbed. If the development era is approaching its end, then many sociological theories on current societies will share the same destiny： sustainable development doctrines between them. It is worth to examine theories that explicitly look at the social world which at least are not incompatible with it. Four different approaches are discussed in this context： governance of complexity, post-development and alternative local development, utopian sceneries of a prosperous waydown, visions of collapse and the die-off. As a conclusion, the paper accepts an evolutionary perspective supports that there are some potentials for conscious social change, but it does not justify the belief in a particular only line of history. This conclusion does not satisfy the desire of knowing the future; nevertheless it may be the only one possible. The future is not written. Neither in history nor in evolution; not even in the mixture of history and evolution that conforms us as inhabitants of the Earth.
文摘Given certain reactions to the ecological crisis as part of the multiple crisis of capitalism （like the so-called energy transition in Germany）, a new mode of development might emerge which can be called green capitalism. This would shift the terrain of social critique and emancipatory social struggles. The paper introduces the debate on ＂social-ecological transformation＂ which emerged as a radical part of a more comprehensive debate on ＂great＂ or ＂societal transformation＂ and high- lights its core issues： the issue of a necessary attractive mode of production and living for all, the role of pioneers of change and changing political and economic institutions, the acknowledgment of shifting social practices, the requirement for alternative imaginaries or ＂stories＂ of a good life as part of a contested process which is called ＂futuring.＂ As an example for alternative imaginaries, the current debate on ＂degrowth＂ is outlined and evaluated. The second part of the paper focuses more concretely on issues around the formation and existence of a global green-left. After mentioning a crucial problem for any global alternative--i.e., the structural feature of economic and geopolitical competition which historically divided the global Left and pulled it into compromises at national or regional scales--four requirements or characteristics of a global green-left are highlighted： to weaken and change capitalistically driven competition and competitiveness, to push a social-ecological transformation in democratic ways and not at the back ofordinary people （like conservative and liberal proposals for transformation tend to do）, to link more systematically green issues with labor issues and, finally, to transform the overall dispositive of political action from a ＂distributive＂ to a ＂transformative Left.＂ One dimension of such an enhancement, it is concluded, is a broader understanding of the ＂economy＂ itself by acknowledging the demands and achievements of a ＂care revolution＂ which will be crucial for an alternative mode of production and living.
